The Legend of Lady Hawke
by Fear of the Machine
Summary: This is the lost first chapters of Lady Autumn Hawke, where she travels all over Ferelden meeting important characters in the Dragon Age universe. This is the beginning of the woman who will rise to fame in all of Thedas.


_**In The Emerald Forest**_

Every year when the leaves began to fall, Autumn Hawke visited the forest just outside Lotheringen. Her mother had told her stories about an ancient fortress known as Ostagar not too far away. As to why she left when the leaves fell, was because of the dangerous animals. Only now would they be too busy finding shelter for the forthcoming winter. Hawke had been doing this for years, but never were brave enough to venture too far from her home. But as a promise to herself on her 14th birthday, this time she would find Ostagar. After convincing her sister Bethany and her brother Carver not to say a word to mother or father, and then convincing her parents that she would just play with her friend Gorhan, she began her adventure with only a short sword and a torch to defend herself. That last thing wasn't truly a lie, as Gorhan would actually join Hawke on her quest. He wasn't interested in the fortress though, but to hunt and kill a bear so he could be "worthy his friends", whatever that meant. Well, according to Gorhan that is, Hawke had her suspicions on him being interested in her as more than a friend. She doubted it though, as she knew Gorhan had been watching after one of her friends, which was what she hoped too. As Gorhan was a hunter, he had brought his fathers bow, with permission of course. Hawke didn't think it would be any use bringing weapons though, the forest had been unusually quiet the past months, as if its inhabitants were preparing for something worse than a cold of winter. And it seemed as if her theory was right, because they have now been wandering for several hours without encountering anything bigger than their feet.

Hawke looked up at the sun dying behind the lush trees, just to be reborn the next morning. Its last beams of light were giving the forest a beautiful orange hue. Soon the moon would replicate this act but in a silvery light. Hawke preferred the cold but still heartwarming still of night. Gorhan did not, as he hid himself in his tent which he placed a bit too near the fireplace, thought Hawke.

- Are you sure you don't want to be out in the dark, Gorhan? Hawke teased.

- Are you sure you don't want to bother a bear instead?

Hawke looked back at his tent and noticed he was sharpening a long, thin bit of wood, surely to be made into an arrow.

- A bear? Is it a bear you are afraid of?

- You don not want to be mocking a bear, my dear lady Hawke. They have deadly … paws … and … teeth, replied Gorhan.

- How nice of you to call me lady Hawke, as I could easily kick your ass.

Gorhan and Hawke looked at each other with a grin.

- I think I will try to get a nights rest now. Sure you wouldn't want to join me in my tent? Suggested Gorhan. Hawke wasn't sure how to interpret that, but she stuck with the joking theory.

- Someone has to look out for dangerous animals, and we both know it won't be you, she said with a faint grin. Gorhan shook his head and went inside his tent. Hawke sat hours besides the fireplace and guarded the tents in the cold. After playing with some stones she couldn't resist the temptation of sleep. Her eyes felt as heavy as rocks as she closed them and fell asleep.

She woke up in the light of day, hearing birds twittering just as every other morning. Hawke pushed herself up from the ground and looked around. The fire had long since died and Gorhan's tent was packed down into a small bag. Her tattered, brown clothes were reeking of sweat. I should find somewhere to clean myself, after I've found Gorhan, she thought. She got up on her feet and looked around. She saw her sword lying nearby the dead fireplace, with some black dust on its tip. On the ground Hawke saw the message from Gorhan, most likely: Found a waterfall a bit from here, follow the arrow straight forward. I will be there.

She took the sword and Gorhans bag and began to follow the arrow. The forest, even when dying before the cold touch of winter, was green in a hue more beautiful than emerald. Many people never find beauty even when it lies just outside ones door, something Hawke thinks of often. It didn't take long until she reached the small lake where the waterfall lay. A smile took place in Autumn's face. It was just like in a painting she saw that depicted one of the Circle Towers in a dreamlike lake. She always thought that the lake was an exaggeration of the power that Tower held. But this made her doubt her initial thoughts. Everything around the lake was bright green and it didn't seem that fall had reached it yet. The trees were bent toward the spring, making it look smaller and more comfortable, thought Hawke. In the middle of the clear blue lake was a dark figure, Gorhan probably. She began taking slow steppes towards the lake, but stopped when she saw Gorhan's clothes and bow lying on the ground. This is going to most awkward, she thought. But the inevitable thought of Gorhan swimming naked was erased as soon as she saw the dark figure clearly. It was an elf, dark-skinned with long white hair. He stood in the middle of the lake with leather armour and a bow on his back. In his muscular arms Gorhan lay with an arrow in his arm. Hawke nearly panicked, but instead ducked and dropped her sword and Gorhans bag. Hawke knew she didn't have a chance against an elf with a bow against her rusted sword. But she wasn't going to let Gorhan be captured, or killed by an elf. She hadn't a clue of what they would do to him, as and elf in the wild was just heard of in stories. The Dalish. That was what they were called. But she wasn't thinking about that, she was thinking of a way to scare him into letting Gorhan go. She looked at Gorhans bow that was just a couple of meters beside her. Silently she took small steps towards it and grabbed them. She took an arrow from his bag and walked silently to the edge of the lake, behind the elf, which hadn't moved since she saw him. Weird, she thought. But she wasn't going to ask, so she readied the bow and aimed. As she prepared to fire the arrow, the Dalish elf heard something behind him and looked directly at her. She panicked and let the arrow fly across the lake toward the elf.


End file.
